Professor Bitterwolf's research encompasses a broad area of organometallic chemistry ranging from the organic chemistry of functional groups on cyclopentadienyl metal compounds to the electrochemistry and photochemistry of reactions at the metals themselves. Nobel Laureate E.O. Fischer's dictum "Mann Muss Erst in Hand Haben" (One must have it in one's hand first!) is the motto of much of this work. A major emphasis of the research program is the design and rational synthesis of new organometallic compounds with complex functionality, or compounds with two metal atoms held in very close proximity. Having prepared these new materials, the research then focuses on their chemistry, potential catalytic behavior or their further elaboration into pendant groups in polymers.
Current projects in this laboratory include the preparation of functionalized cyclopentadienyl thallium complexes which are general synthons for cyclopentadienyl organometallic compounds unavailable through more traditional routes. Two major spin off projects have emerged from this work. One involves the preparation of new classes of chiral organometallic compounds which are potential catalysts for imposing chirality in organic reactions. The second is concerned with the incorporation of organometallic compounds into polymers and fibers where they may serve as stationary bound catalysts.
Compounds in which two metal atoms are very close together offer the potential for catalytic reactions in which both metals may participate. Similar cooperative interaction between two binding sites is well known in enzymatic reactions and is strongly suspected on metal surfaces. It has already been shown that bimetallic compounds undergo highly cooperative reactions leading to the liberation of dihydrogen from acids, and form stable oxidized cations with extensive charge delocalization.